IEEE volunteers and staff who with IEEE Publishing Operations work on the production aspects of publishing IEEE journals will soon have access to a portal designed to streamline the production process. Beta testing has begun on the IEEE Publishing Operations Production Portal. This website for Editor-in-Chiefs, Associate Editors, Publication Managers, and Society/Council Officers will streamline their publications-related work and put detailed information about the production status of IEEE journals right at their fingertips. Information accessible through the Portal includes:

Additionally, authorized users will be able to assemble issues by, ordering articles within issues and finalizing the contents of issues to complete the production process. Beta testing of the new website is currently underway. It is anticipated that the IEEE Publishing Operations Production Portal will be rolled out to all users by Spring 2011.

IEEE Technology News, a beta version of a web-based publication to be launched in 2011 and also viewable on mobile devices is now available. Advertiser support keeps this publication available free of charge to help you sift through the close to three million articles found in IEEE Xplore®. About 200,000 articles are added to Xplore annually. IEEE Technology News brings IEEE members and the global community the top 1000 most interesting, timely, and newsworthy articles.

Anyone can subscribe for a preview. Beta testing is projected to begin in early 2011. Year after year IEEE surveys show that the number one reason members join IEEE is to remain technically current. IEEE Technology News offers subscribers a way not to only stay abreast of their particular specialty area but can also help them gain an understanding of other technologies.

Content comes from IEEE’s more than 500 conference proceedings and 800 journal issues published annually. To guarantee quality, the articles go through a four-stage process. In the first step, appropriate papers are selected by volunteer associate editors; professional technical writers will create condensed versions and in the third step, a technical editor will review and edit. During the fourth and final step the IEEE Technology News Editor-in-Chief will conduct a final review prior to publication.

Associate editors are needed for selecting the articles to be condensed. If you are a technical expert, preferably an IEEE Fellow, who regularly reads IEEE publications, consider joining the team. Interested candidates can send a message to TechNews@ieee.org along with a brief statement of qualifications and specify the publication(s) you are willing to cover. Additional comments or questions about IEEE Technology News can be emailed to TechNews@ieee.org.

The first of five updates to the PSPB Operations Manual concerns copyright and an author’s ability to reuse their published articles. Section 8.1.9 of the PSPB Operations Manual has been rewritten to reflect a need for IEEE to have better control over its Intellectual Property and also to bring IEEE policy up to date with current practice and terminology. Authors and/or their employers maintain substantial rights to reuse their created work. However, now only the accepted versions of their IEEE-copyrighted papers are allowed to be posted on their personal sites and their institutions' servers, not the final published version which includes copy-editing, proofreading and formatting added by IEEE. Authors can continue to follow the mandates of agencies that fund the authors' research by posting accepted versions of their articles on the agencies' publicly accessible repositories. IEEE policy does not permit third parties to post IEEE-copyrighted material without obtaining a license or permission from the IEEE. Additionally, in any electronic posting permitted by the revised Section 8.1.9, the following copyright notice must be displayed on the initial screen displaying IEEE-copyrighted material:

The second update is a new Section 8.1.1.J which details how the International System of Units (SI units) must be used in IEEE Publications. Individuals should note that exceptions to IEEE's requirement for SI units are units that are based on international industry practice. Some examples of acceptable non-SI units include the bel, place angle degree, and electronvolt. Equivalent customary units of measurement can also be included but must follow the SI units in parenthesis. The IEEE Transactions, Journal, and Letters Information for Authors guide is a good reference for preferred usage of units and conversion factors.

A “date of publication” clarification in 8.1.1.I highlights the third update to the operations manual. Section 8.1.1.I.2 now defines the date of publication for an IEEE Standard to be the same date that the first version of the document with a specific revision or edition year is transmitted to IEEE Standards Online and IEEE Xplore. Approved IEEE Standards must be clearly distinguished from published drafts, so drafts cannot be misunderstood as first publications. Drafts are to be distinguished by a date assigned by a volunteer editor.

A new Section 6.1.2 of the operations manual formalizes the rebate process used within the IEEE Publications department to return any surplus that has occurred within a department's service-oriented cost center to that center's IEEE customers. This ensures that a positive variance in department center will not be used to subsidize a negative variance in another department center. The formalized rebate procedure is now part of the IEEE annual budget development process for 2011 and beyond.

Lastly, Section 2.4.2 has been updated to clarify the editorial authority of the Editor-in-Chief (EIC) of an IEEE refereed publication. The section now specifies that EIC can delegate responsibility, as necessary, for various publication activities to other editors of the publication but retains ultimate responsibility for the editorial process. The duty includes ensuring that a procedure is in place to resolve any editorial or peer review challenge.

IEEE Spectrum digital subscribing members can now receive a high quality editorial and graphic Spectrum edition on the iPad. To get it, the digital subscriber downloads an IEEE Spectrum app, short for application from the iTunes App store. The downloaded app then delivers a Spectrum digital library including the current issue and all archived issues back to July 2007, displaying all the exciting features created by QMags to give members an outstanding reading experience.

Currently this is a members-only service. A non-member paid subscription version is in development and will be released in January. Members who are already digital subscribers get immediate access to Spectrum on their iPads as a fixture of their digital subscriptions. Members who are currently print subscribers can change their print subscription to “digital only” or to a digital/print combination. Switching to the “digital only” subscription means forgoing print but there’s no cost; it simply becomes the member’s default subscription. Members who would like to keep print but also get a digital subscription can get both for US$9.95 for the year. For more information, contact Jim Vick at +1 212 419 7767, or j.vick@ieee.org.

IEEE Press is adding eleven titles published in 2007 to the free IEEE eBook Classics member benefit in early January 2011. Two of the eleven titles members will find include "Elements of Tidal-Electric Engineering" by Robert H. Clark and "The Web's Awake" by Phlip D. Tetlow. IEEE members can access eBook Classics by logging in to IEEE Xplore using their IEEE Account. Under "Books" in the left hand navigation select "Classics" for a list of all free titles.

It is with our sincerest wish that 2011 is a year filled with good health, happiness, hope, and prosperity. Thank you for all of your efforts in 2010. IEEE is a stronger and more viable organization because of all you do. Your efforts in helping IEEE Publications attain its vision and mission are appreciated!